Reviewing the Medical Books and Journals that constituted Medical understanding a century back.

History of the Book of Medicine

March 1st, 2008 at 5:24 am

Bony Frame of the Hand – Palm of the Hand

Bony Frame of the Hand. – on turning over this flap we behold the bony framework of this wonderful organ. This seemed to consist of a number of bones, so exquisitely arranged as to combine the greatest possible degree of flexibility and strength.

Palm of the Hand. – below this is given an elegant, and the same time a true and correct view of the muscular arrangement of the palm of the hand and fingers. Over the wrist to see me annular ligament, that then, tough, strong sheet, which binds the muscular courts and holds them firmly in place us in these anatomical charts have we depicted the perfection of the human hand.

Sometimes you definitely do get the impression that the author is talking much more about the book they are writing, the pictures in the book and absolutely nothing at all related to the topic.  The author could be talking about acne treatment and it would be more relevant than talking about these charts and the 'perfection of the human hand'.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

  • The Intestines

    The Intestines.  — the next chart shows us the manner in which the intestines are arranged in the abdominal cavity.  The entire intestinal can now is about 30 feet in length, and is divided into two portions — the small intestines, and the large intestines; these again are each subdivided into three different portions.  Of the large intestines, the transfers portion is laid open, showing the internal arrangements.  A section of the bladder is even on this chart.

    _______

    I really don’t have any clue what they’re talking about when they refer to the three portions subdividing both the large and small intestines.  Is nothing in the chart that mentions this subdivision and I’ve never heard of anything like that before in regards to the intestines.  This could be my lame and ignorance or it could be some odd notion espoused in this book.  They also mention that the link to the intestines is approximately 30 feet.  I seem to recall from my grade school education 25 years ago, that the length was 26 feet for the small intestine and six to 7 feet for the large intestine or was that 3 feet for the large intestine?

    My fourth-grade education combined with my loss of memory over 25 years may be getting the best of me.  Maybe I spent too much time at the drive-in watching movies freezing my toes off as I laid on top of the roof of our van, clinging to a van rack.  I’m sure that would seem extremely strange to the writers of this book and possibly even to my readers is not been to a drive-in before during the fall.

  • The Crab Lice

    The Crab Lice.—These are a smaller type of the former species, as head or body lice. They are nearly as wide as long. They have strong legs spread out on the sides of the body, which makes them appear like crabs. They are of whitish color, slightly shaded on the shoulders and legs with a red tinge. Crab lice are found upon the hairy regions of the body other than the scalp. The spread of these pests can be checked by washing all toilet seats with scalding water, and boiling towels and linen from suspected persons. Laundries should be especially careful as to the thorough boiling and disinfection of all clothing, as the eggs of these parasites can be conveyed in bed-clothing, towels, etc.

    TREATMENT.–Shave the hair in the region of the itching and wash twice a day with a lotion made of

    Tincture of Larkspur…………1/2 ounce

    Commercial Ether ……….. 8 ounces

     

     WARNING  This treatment recommendation is over 100 years old.  We do not recommend it nor know how effective or safe it might be.  If you are cleaning clothing or Delsey luggage or something, use at your own risk, but if you try this stuff on your self, we think you are probably crazy.

  • The Pyloric Gate and The Liver

    The Pyloric Gate.  — At the smaller end the muscular fibers contract and form a gateway — the pylorus, as it is called — which carefully guards the exit from the stomach, and allows no food to escape until properly prepared.  The gastric blood vessels are seeing distributing themselves over the outer surface of the organ, thus ensuring its nutrition and repair.

    The Liver.  — The liver is the secreting organ by which the bile is formed.  It is situated on the right side below the diaphragm, and is of a reddish-brown color.  It is a regular in form, being convex on the upper surface, irregularly concave behind, very thin in front, and weighs about 4 pounds.  It is, therefore, seen to be the largest organ or gland in the body.  It is divided into two lobes, the right and the left, the former being by far the larger.  I’m turning the flap over, we see how intricately is arranged internally.

    ________

    It’s strange but there are only a few sections like this one where there are no bizarre items to report or identify.  It’s kind of a nice change of pace when the medical textbook reverts back to being a medical textbook. :-)

    I’m sure some strange topic will come up to catch my attention soon and it’s not like topics today in real life don’t sometimes appear a little out of the ordinary.  I recently covered a reference to something known as tranquility diapers, which I believe is some reference to the peace of mind that a person suffering from incontinence, or IBD might experience after they utilize this particular product and start to live a more normalized life again. 

    In many ways it’s all a matter of perspective, my perspective of this old textbook is skewed significantly from the perspective of the initial writers and editors.  Like calculus problem I’m studying the derivative.  In this case the derivative can be measured by the span of time and change in knowledge .

 

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